Clashes continue outside Delaney Hall detention center amid ongoing protests
Protesters clashed with ICE agents outside Newark’s Delaney Hall Detention Facility as crowds swelled Thursday night, prompting repeated confrontations, chemical crowd-control measures.
Thursday night, crowds outside Newark’s Delaney Hall Detention Facility had grown to more than twice their morning size, spilling into nearby streets as tensions between protesters and ICE agents quickly intensified.
Chaotic scenes outside of gate entrance showing a demonstrator thrown to the ground and different forms of crowd control weaponry being used to push back protestors
For nearly four hours, the same pattern repeated itself. Vehicles attempted to enter the facility while protesters remained in the roadway, at times stepping forward toward approaching cars. In response, ICE agents deployed metal batons, pepper spray, and other crowd-control weapons to push demonstrators back from the entrance.
“Lead like Renee, get in the way!” protesters yelled, referring to Renée Good, a Minnesota woman who was shot and killed by an ICE agent earlier this year during a separate confrontation in which her vehicle was blocking a roadway.
Protester rhetoric varied throughout the night. Some demonstrators shouted inflammatory anti-ICE slogans, including calls for violence against federal agents, while others chanted in Spanish and used music and songs to express solidarity with immigrants in the United States.
Protestors chanting anti ICE slogans in Spanish
Tear gas and pepper spray filled the air, leaving even those who were not directly sprayed coughing and reaching for masks and goggles as the wind began to pick up. Eventually umbrellas were being passed out from other demonstrators as a repellent from any spray weaponry.
Protester getting their eyes rinsed with water after being sprayed in the face with a chemical crowd-control agent.
As the standoff continued, ICE agents appeared increasingly agitated. At one point, a supervising agent moved down the line of officers telling them, “Don’t react, and do not curse or use any profanity.”
ICE agent throwing yellow object on ground
Throughout the demonstration, frustration among protesters continued to build - fueled both by clashes with officers and by broader concerns surrounding the facility, including reports that New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who has made public statements advocating for both the protesters and detainees, and state health officials were denied full access to Delaney Hall.
As the night wore on, the atmosphere outside the facility remained tense and unpredictable, with demonstrators showing little sign of backing down.
Below is a photo gallery from the protest:
